Machine for making m etal tu bing



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

1). A. RITCHIE. MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL TUBING.

Patented Oct. 27,1885.

froze 7'' @MOL 4 @dm N PETERS. Pholwliliwgmphnr, Washinglon. 01c,

3 Sheets--Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

D. A. RITCHIE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL TUBING.

Patented 001;. 27, 1885.

n PETERS. Phdlu-lillu vgmphon Washington. 0. c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

1). A. RITCHIE. MACHINE FOR MAKING METALTUBING No. 328,974. PatentedOct. 27, 1885.

UNrrs STATES DAVID A. nrronrn, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL TUBING;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 328374;, dated Qctober27, 1885 Application filed April 3, 1885. Serial No; 161,134. (Nomodel.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, DAVID A. Rrronrn, of Boston, (Chelsea) county ofSuffolk, andrSt-ate of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inMachines for Making Metal Tubing, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention has for its object the production of a simple machine bywhich to automatically and rapidly produce straight sheet metal tubingof that class in which the locked seam is longitudinal with relation tothe tubmg.

Prior to my invention attempts have been made to produce this class oftubing automatically by means ofa farmer called a triplet, a sheet-metalstrip havinga bend'deflned at its longitudinal center being fed onto theformer or triplet, having its axis inclined with relation to theleeding-rollers, the sheet metal first bent into gutter-form, with itssides of equal width, and fed upon the said former or triplet, beingdistorted or twisted by it, so as to make one part of the gutter ofunequal width, thereby leaving one leg thereof, viewing the same incross-section, longer than the other, in order that the longer side maybe lapped or turned over and made to embrace the opposite or shorterside. In the class of machine referred to the flanged edges to cooperatetogether and form the lap were not bent until after the tube was bentclosely about the former or triplet.

In accordance with my invention the rollers which feed the strip intothe machine from the strip receiving guide or feed table form flanges ateach edge thereof before the strip arrives position to be broughttogether about a mandrel, the latter being arranged at right angles tothe axis of the feed-rollers, so that the flanged strip folded about itmay be fed over the mandrel in a straight line without distorting ortwisting the strip, as heretofore. With the roller for'flanging thestrip at each edge, and with the mandrel, I have arranged a preliminarycurving guide, which gradually curves the flanged strip longitudinally,and delivers its flanged portion upon helical or spiral guides, whichsupport the flanged edges of the strip whileit-is fed through PATENT themachine and is being gradually bent about the mandrel to form a tube,the strip of metal in practice being gradually curved and applied to themandrel by the said preliminary curving guide and the helical or spiralguides. The flanges first produced in the strip leave at one edge anL-shaped and at its other edge a I-shaped flange, and consequently whenthe portions of the said flanged edges,which when first formed aresubstantially at right angles to the main body of the strip, are broughttogether a part of the I-shaped flange overlaps the L-shaped flange, andthereafter the outer margin of the Ishaped flange is, by a finger,

to be described, turned downward about and to embrace the L-shapedflange, the flanges so placed together entering an annulargroove in thefirst pair of pulling-rollers. As and after the lapped edges enter thegroove in the large roller of the first pair of pulling-rollers the saidlarger roller, co operating with the mandrel, brings the sheet metalinto tubular form.

and gives it its tubular set,'and also pinches the flanges together.After leaving the first pair of pulling rollers the folded andinterlocked flanged edges are gradually bent over by flange-bendingdevices, so that as the in terlocked and bent-over flanges arrive at thesecond pair of pulling-rollers the latter act on the flange so partiallyturned and also on the tube, thus completing the seam or joint in thetube.

My invention consists, essentially, in flanging-rollers and a mandrelhaving its axis at right angles to the axes of the flanging-rollers,combined with a preliminary curving-guide, which gradually curves andapplies the plunget-tube to the mandrel, as will be described.

My invention also consists in the flangingrollers, mandrel, preliminarycurving-guide, and a pair of rollersone located within and the otheroutside the mandreland flangebending devices, substantially as will behere inafter described, combined with pulling-rollers located bothoutside and inside the tube,

the roller of the pair inside the tube being supported by the mandrel.

Other features of myinvention will be pointed out in the claims at theend of this specifition.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a tube-forming machine embodying myinvention; Fig. 2, an

- for the different shafts, to be described.

- enlarged central vertical section taken through the feeding andflanging rollers, the strip-receiving guide or feed-table, part of thepreliminary curving-guide, and part of the bed of the machine; Fig. 3, asimilar detail takenthrough the pulling-rollers and mandrel at thedelivery end of the machine, the line of section being shown at x m,Fig. 4; Fig. 4, a sectional detail in the line as, Fig. 3, showing themandrel, curving-guide, and the conical disk of the flangebendingdevices; Fig. 5, an enlarged section in line at m, Fig. 1; Fig. 6, asimilar section in the line 00 .00 Fig. 7, a section in the line 50 00Fig. 1; Fig. 8, a section in the line x 00. Figs. 9 to 15, inclusive,show the different shapes assumed by the sheetmetal strip as it is madeinto a tube on my improved machine. Fig. 16 is asection inthe line x m,Fig. 1. Fig. 1 7 is apartial topv'iew of the receiving end of themachine with the upper one of the feeding rollersremoved, theuppermost-plate of the preliminary curvingguide being broken out to showthelower plate under it.

The frame-work A, of proper shapeto support the working parts,hassuitable bearings, The. driving-shaft A, driven by a belt or otherwise in usual manner, has a pinion, A that engages a gear, A on theshaft A, on which is secured the upper roller, 13, of the pair offeeding and. flanging rollers B B, the latter roller being fast on theshaft B, provided with the pinion B that is engaged and rotated by thepinion A on the shaft A of the feed-roller B.

The end of the upper feed-roller, B, is provided with annular flanges 22, and the end of the lower feed-roller with annular. grooves 3 3, thepart of the under roll between its grooves entering and almost fillingthe space left in the strip of metal t, entering between the said rollsin the condition Fig. 9. is flanged or bent at its edges, as shown atFig. 10, wherein it will be seen that one flange is L-shaped and theother I shaped, the latter being so shaped owing to the position of theedge-guides a 11, made adjustable by the adjustingscrews a b, and heldin place by the set-screws a b in suitable slots in the saidedge-guides. These edge-guides and the plate to constitute thereceiving-guide or feed-table, and by adjusting the said guideslaterally the edge of the strip of sheet metal to be formed into atubemay be made to lap more or less at either end of the main part of theunder roller, any excess of overlapping beyond the depth of the annulargroove out in the roller B appearing in the ]"-sl.ap d flange or in thatpart of the same marked 4: in Fig. 10.

The mandrel O, a long rod or bar in crosssection the same as thatdesired for the tube to be made, and herein shown as round, but whichmight be rectangular if that sort of tube or pipe were needed, isattached at one end by screws 6 6 to a cross-head, 0, attached by bolts7 7 to the bed C,'supported upon and secured by suitable bolts to theframework. The cross-headO (see Fig. 5) is provided with two grooves orspaces, 8 8, into which enter the edges of the upper or crown plate, d,of

the preliminary curving-guide, composed of the said crownplate and abottom plate, (2,

. having its edges turned up to follow the'transverse curve of. and alsothe taper of the crownplate d. The crown plate d will be attached bysuitable screws to the under side of the under portion or plate of thecross-head, and the bottom plate, d, to the upper side of the bedby'screws 10, as shown in Fig. 5. The lower side of the crownplate d andthe upper side of the bottom plate, (1, are so shaped and adjustedwithrelation each to the other as to leave a narrow curved passage, suchas togradually curveupward the flanged strip. On the. bed 0 and just infront of the bottom plate, d, are placed helical or spiral guides e,gradually rising above and carrying the strip of metal about the mandrelinto the ,position designated by Fig-12, bringing the parts 12 12 of thestrip face to face, and delivering the said parts so placed togetherinto a delivery-guide, f, it being at'or forming part of the. helical orspiral guides, the delivery-- guide f nearly surrounding the mandrel,the

narrow slot at its upper side bringing the two parts 12 12 closelytogether and holding them ,so whilethe steel finger g, held by the small"yoke or stand 9, act'supon the part 4 (see ;Fig. 12) and bendsit downabout the L-shaped flange, as in Fig. 13.

The shaft A has fast on it a toothed gear, D, that through anintermediate, D, engages and. drives the gear D, fast on. the shaft Dcarrying the roller h, the said shaft being supported in boxes h inuprights of the frame- ;work.

the upper roller between its flanges, so that The shaft D has fast on ita gear, D, that engages a gear, D", on the shaft D, carrying the rollerm, the latter shaft having in turn an attached. gear, D at its-oppositeend, that engages a gear, D on;and rotates the shaft n, having on it theroller 07..

vided with a central annular groove, h, in which the flanged edges, inthe condition shown in Fig. 13, enter.

Ilhe mandrel (J, near its delivery end, is recessed or slotted toreceive the anti-friction rollers h 'n' m, each milled or scored at itssurface to engage theinterior of the tube surrounding the mandrel, andsupported thereon by suitable journals or studs. The rollers h a m arelocated inside thetube, directly op- The roller h isfproing milled theyfinely indent the pipe in the line of the seam, which tends to increasethe closeness of the joint formed.

Behind the roller h, in the direction of the movement of the tube overthe mandrel, I have placed the flange-bending devices 2 p. The piecemarkedp is a sort of taper block or finger, to act against the part 4close down in the right-angled bend of the L-shaped flange in thecondition of the tube represented in Fig. 13, while the piece p, made asa beveled roller or disk, acts against the opposite side of the lockedflange and gradually turns it over, as in Fig. 14, in which conditionthe roller it acts on the flange and compresses it between itself andthe roller 12. into the shape shown in Fig. 15.

Thejournal p of the diskp is made adjustable by the fulcrum-screws 19 19After this the pipe is pulled off the delivery end of the mandrel by thelastset of pulling-rollers m m. The rollers 12 m are grooved annularlyto receive the additional thickness of metal entering into the seam orjoint, and are milled (see Fig. 1) to better engage the said seam orjoint, and by slightlyindenting it aid in making the seam or joint veryclose, and for many purposes sufficientl y tight without the addition ofsolder.

The delivery-guide may be prolonged by the addition to it of asemicircular extension or rest, r.

The flanging-rollers B B also serve as the main feeding-rollers but itis obvious, instead of making the same identical pieces of metal performboth duties, that the flanged and re duced ends of the rollers B B maybe made in separate pieces held onthe same shafts, Aj and B I claim l.The flanging and feeding rollers B B,and the mandrel having its axis atright angles to the axis of the said rolls, combined with theprelongitudinally,

liminary curving-guide, the rollers acting to flange the edges of thestrip preparatory to the action of the curving-guide to curving itsubstantially as described.

2. The flanging and feeding rollers B B, and the mandrel having its axisat right angles to the axis of the said rolls, combined with thepreliminary curvingguide and with the helical or spiral guides toreceive and act upon the flanges of the strip of flanged metal to foldthe same about the mandrel, substantially as described.

3. The mandrel and helical or spiral guide to fold the flanged tubeabout it, combined with the finger to turn the outer edge of the J"shaped flange of the strip down over the L- shaped edge thereof,substantially as described.

4. The mandrel and the helical or spiral guide to fold the flanged tubeabout it, combined with the finger to turn the outer edge of theI-shaped flange of the strip down over the L-shaped edge thereof, andwith the roll ers h h, the former roller having an annular groove toreceive the flanges after they have been caught together, while thelatter roller supports the interior of the tube, substantially asdescribed.

5. The mandrel,the guides to fold the flanged strip about the samelongitudinally, and the rollers h h combined with flange-bendingdevices, substantially as described, to turn the locked flange overnearly upon the surface of the tube, substantially as set forth.

6. The ma'ndrehthe guides to fold the flanged strip about the samelongitudinally, and the rollers h 71., combined with flangebendingdevices, substantially as deseribed, to turn the locked flange overnearly upon the surface of the tube, and with a pair of milledpullingrollers, one inside of, the other outside, the tube on themandrel, to operate substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID A. RITCHIE.

Witnesses G. W. GREGORY,

H. SIcsToN.

It is hereby certified that the residence of the patentee in LettersPatent No. 328,974., granted October 27, 1885, upon the application ofDavid A. Ritchie, for an improvelhent in Machines for Making MetalTubing, was erroneously written and printed Boston, Massachusetts,whereas said residence should have been written and printed Chelsea,Massachzwetts and that the said Letters Patent should be read with thiscorreotion therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Oflice.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 24th day of November, A. D. 1885.

[SEAL] H. L. MULDROW,

Gountersigned M. V. MONTGOMERY,

Commissioner of Patents.

Acting Secretary of the fnterior.

